Keepin' it real fake: Sony Style L80 mini laptop cuts the VAIO P's price down to size
By Tim Stevens 
posted July 26th 2010 8:35AM
posted July 26th 2010 8:35AM
posted July 26th 2010 8:35AM
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ILL TAKE 3 OF THEM!
@pintolulz What OS does it use? Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP?
Please forgive my ignorance.
@pintolulz some half baked linux i bet...
@xenbomb
It has a windows key... if that matters on a KIRF.
@pintolulz
Exactly, for the three that you would buy you could only buy one Vaio P, with almost the same specs.
REPORT: I just received mine today. Should have known better:
1. The device is slightly BENT on one side... perhaps was warped right out of the factory.
2. No windows 7 ... ohhh no. It's Windows XP with a Windows 7 SKIN! --AAARGHHH!!
3. This is the pearler. Automatic updates are turned off, it's only got Windows XP SP2 and when I turn on auto-updates, download the windows genuine advantage plugin, it says this copy of XP IS NOT GENUINE!
4. The web camera fails to initialize. It does not work.
Apart from that - which is HUGE - the device is snappy. I will have to keep it as a PMP or something that I can use as a bedside reader... But seriously, it was not worth it at all. I'm staying away from this crap. What a rip off. Serves me right too. I should have known better...
Wierd things:
1. It has HDMI out instead of VGA out.
2. It has 3 USB ports.
3. The battery is so small and tiny I think I only have about 40 minutes battery life when out of the wall plug.
Go china!.... not.
stocking stuffer!!
@xenbomb
That's what she said.
I'm always genuinely curious as to how well these actually work. Of course, I'm sure there's wild variations in quality from one KIRF manufacturer to the next... hell, I'm sure it differs a lot between the same model under the same manufacturer.
undisclosed resolution? if you look on the spec page it says 1024 x 600
total dealbreaker, I would've bought it if it was as high as the vaio p's.
@408wikkidclown
Even if it were something like 1024 x 768, I'd have been all about it. But I've used a friend's netbook that had a res that low, and it was not a pleasant experience for me.
This is coming from someone who uses a 1200 x 800 15 inch laptop. I'm not complaining because of pixel density, but strictly for usability's sake, the res of that screen is too low.
@408wikkidclown Hah, I didn't see that listed below the screen size. Updated the post.
Thanks!
@TimStevens
no problem. and @bigjaydogg3
i get exactly what you are saying with the whole screen resolution thing. nothing is usable for me unless it's at LEAST 1280x768 -- which I believe is the native resolution for the vaio p. I have a dell xps with a 15 inch screen with 1280 x 800 as well, and I would never be able to use it if it was lower than that -- way too frusterating and counter productive.
@BigJayDogg3
It's just a 8.9-inch screen, i think 1024x600 is good enough. It's not like you need to have 10 windows open at the same time side-by side.
The price looks very nice, assuming the thing actually you know ... works
@408wikkidclown I believe its 1600 by 768; which is EXTREMELY high dpi, Sony is pretty much the king of high density screens: the Vaio P, the Vaio Z (1080p on a 13 inch screen!).
@BigJayDogg3 Actually for a VAIO P, it's more like 1600x768 (plus it's LED backlit). Plus you don't have to lose a USB port for Bluetooth on a VAIO P... :) Of course the VAIO P also has built in HSDPA/EVDO + A-GPS which I'm sure this lacks.
The product description actually lists the screen resolution as 1024x600
Incidentally I actually could be tempted!
Not bad even includes Windows 7 :)
I can't believe we do business with a country that has zero respect for IP rights. I mean the company name is "Sony Style" and making total Sony rip off products?
Even though I'm not a big Sony fan, I wouldn't buy this product out of respect for Sony and disgust for this type of rip off. "Sony Style" is basically stealing from "Sony" and anyone buying this crap is basically buying stolen goods.
Cody
@CodyTech
if we didnt do business with that country , your Sony products would most likely cost 4 times as much.
@CodyTech
If sony doesn't give a shit; then why should you?
@CodyTech
Yeah and I don't think Sony will give a shit until Sony Style starts to make enough money that it's worth Sony's time to sue them. So really if you buy this you'll be putting Sony Style on the path to destruction. I don't think you have a choice here, Cody (it is Cody, right?). To uphold your values you MUST buy this laptop.
@CodyTech So you are from Japan, sir? Have fun at the fertility festivals.
I wouldn't mind picking on up.
@Da Bears
to the east side...
I hate to say it, but I used to have a Sony P. 1600 resolution was too much.
I don't think for a second that people on engadget would buy this and expect it to compare with the build quality of a Sony Product. But for those of us who want the same form factor, and look its a pretty sweet deal. I am actually considering buying it. Sometimes the KIRF models actually get some things right that the Originals don't. Of course at this price point I am sure its using the same DOG slow SSD that the original EEE laptops used. I also don't expect the company to stand by any kind of warranty.
This would be a fun little development device for Meego or Chrome OS.
Just to add. They charge $40 for shipping 5-8 Business days. Its also available in black and white, The site has a nice questions section at the bottom of the page, which is nice, and they are actually answering the questions being submitted ( more than I can say for the real Sony's Support )
$299 US :O... bargain.
This does look pretty good as a netsurfing PC actually. I just might... actually, I will! :) :) :) *goes off to buy 1*
Is that an Lenovo edge 13 keyboard they crammed in there? Lol..
Do people still Hackintosh, and would you consider it in the hopes of slapping Mac OS X on it?
With an N450, that could outperform the real Vaio P, considering its a Z520 by default. I'm honestly considering buying this, I wonder how battery life is? It can hardly be much worse than the original Vaio P.
"It's got Sony guts" - from You Don't Mess with the Zohan
That's actually the nicest looking mini laptop I've yet seen. I've wondered for a couple years why no name-brand manufacturer makes such a form-factor.
Anyone have a URL to the manf.?
@Chris Harrington
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Sony+Style+L80
@JmHal
If Googleing had found something, I wouldn't have posted my question.
@Chris Harrington you can find the manufacturer link at the top of the engadget article just before the comments. Look for the word "source" - should be in there. cheers.
owsum maan
yea. i demoed this. with windows xp. the screen gets way too tiny and u can barely see the whole web with the firefox tabs and menu.
Am I the only one who finds the "Keepin' it real fake" label an insult to otherwise nice products. I think you should label all android phones with this label on the bases they are highly dependent on the iphone form factor. The same with blackberries and Palm Treo.
@bleep Yes
@bleep
Well the full touchscreen smartphone was done by Samsung years ago with the i300 and i330. They even did the "i" prefix too. Think HTC even did it with early winCE phones. So chew on that for a bit.
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
I guess that makes me exceptional.
@croggah
That is a wonderful example of my point. I think KIRF should be reserved for products which literally try to look like another more innovative product while falling apart upon closer inspection.
@bleep
So your logic has it that the iphone kirf'd the i3x0 series from Samsung and thus Android phones should to.
The idea you take offense to the whole kirf thing is just odd. No idea why one would even care.
I bet they get those tiny HDDs from Microsoft.
Are the photos real? They differ from http://www.shenit.com/wifi-10-1-inch-pocket-sony-style-l80-mini-laptop-intel-atom-n450-1-66ghz.html
The actual device is much thicker then VAIO... And bigger - * 285 × 151 × 30 mm VS 245x120x19.8 mm. Add 1 more inch to 151 mm width and buy any of many others netbooks for about same 300$...
lovely but I am in China。。。。。。。。